Kyrgyzstan court rejects new probe in Saipov murder

New York, December 9, 2009—Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court ruled today
that the prosecution of a man accused in the 2007 murder
of Alisher Saipov, editor of the Uzbek-language weekly Siyosat, can proceed, the independent news Web site Ferghana
reported. Saipov’s family and colleagues have called the case bogus.

The ruling came in an appeal filed
by the victim’s father, Avaz Saipov, who had asked the court to order a new
investigation into the killing. Saipov told CPJ that investigators have left
numerous questions unanswered, have failed to address several apparent
discrepancies, and have kept his family in the dark.

Officials announced in April that they
had detained a suspect and recovered the murder weapon, although they did not
identify the man or disclose any other details for some time. By the time the
case first reached Osh City Court in late July, Judge Koichubek Zhobonov found
insufficient evidence to proceed and sent the case back to investigators. On
appeal, prosecutors succeeded in overturning the decision and having the trial judge
replaced.

Proceedings against the suspect, a
local man named Abdufarit Rasulov, have continued this fall. Avaz Saipov,
fearing that the case is not legitimate, filed his own appeal in late October. The
suspect has denied involvement in the murder and has said that police beat him,
the independent news Web site Uznews
reported.

“The refusal to launch a new
investigation into the murder of Alisher Saipov only adds to the impression
that the Kyrgyz authorities are concerned less with justice than in closing a
diplomatically embarrassing case,” said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney.
“There have been serious concerns about the handling of the Saipov case since
day one. Today’s court ruling further highlights those concerns. We urge the
authorities to reconsider this decision and begin a new probe immediately.”

Saipov was shot at close range
outside his downtown office in Osh
in October 2007.

A Kyrgyz citizen of Uzbek ethnicity,
Saipov had aggressively covered Uzbekistan’s
political scene. A month before his slaying, state-controlled Uzbek media had
smeared Saipov in publications and broadcasts, and the journalist reported
being followed by Uzbek security agents. Throughout 2007 and 2008, Kyrgyz investigators
said they were probing allegations that Uzbek security agents might have been
involved in the murder.

CPJ research
points to several discrepancies between earlier statements issued by
authorities and their current assertions. In 2007
and 2008,
investigators provided news outlets with a photo of two alleged assailants, and
said they had already found the murder weapon. Authorities have said an
eyewitness, local political analyst Ikbol Mirsaitov, identified the assailant,
but they now say they cannot produce the witness in court.

In addition, authorities have failed to inform the Saipov
family court of even the most basic aspects of the case, such as hearing dates.
Avaz Saipov said he learned of two hearings only after they had been held—and
then only by chance from local human rights defenders who happened to visit the
defendant Rasulov in prison.

Saipov told CPJ he was disappointed
by today’s verdict and said authorities showed today they were not interested
in solving the murder.